


Three-Time Brigade Champions Seek Fourth Title

by Caivu



Category: Batman (Comics), Batwoman (Comic), DCU, DCU (Comics), Detective Comics (Comics)
Genre: Army, Boxing & Fisticuffs, Cadets, Canon Compliant, Gen, Inspired by Real Events, Interviews, Military Academy, Minor Original Character(s), Near Future, News Media, Newspapers, Sports, USMA, West Point, Women in the Military
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-28 22:39:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16251239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caivu/pseuds/Caivu
Summary: A hypothetical article from the February 14th, 2020 edition of thePointer View, West Point's school newspaper, from Bette Kane's final year as a cadet.





	Three-Time Brigade Champions Seek Fourth Title

History will be on the line next Friday, February 21, when First Captain Bette Kane faces off against fellow Firstie Elena Gancio in the main event of the 64th Annual Brigade Boxing Open. At stake is the chance to become the first four-time female BBO Champion in the history of the Academy.

The cadets have never even sparred each other before, as they have usually been separated by at least one weight class. But Gancio, the captain of the women's boxing team, still issued the challenge to Kane back in August, just as the fall term started.

“I said to [Kane], ‘Let's make this a challenge, let's make it something to earn,’” Gancio said. “This is a big thing, and I want it to be something we both have to fight for.”

Kane, who last fought at 132 lbs, and Gancio, who normally fights at 147 lbs, agreed to meet at 139 lbs for their bout. Both cadets reported that they had met that weight late last term, and were simply working to maintain it just a little while longer.

Kane mentioned that her duties as Brigade Commander forced her to unofficially leave the boxing team for her final year.

“It was hard to give that up, but I knew I would have to to do my job properly,” she said. “I still get training in, but by myself. It's lonely, and I think maybe it creates some resentment in the rest of the team, like I'm too good for them. I hope not, because that's not true at all.”

Both women have impressive histories in the sport.

In addition to the Plebe requirement, Kane took up boxing at the Academy to follow in the footsteps of her cousin, the heiress Kate Kane, who herself was a BBO champion in 2010, the year women's boxing returned to the Open for good. After winning the 2017 BBO, the younger Kane went on to have an unbroken winning streak, landing three national NCBA championships and dozens of wins in regional competitions and smaller events attended by the women's team, in addition to her BBO wins in two weight classes. She also has two belts from the USIBA, where she competed as an individual, in the 125-pound women's Beginner and Novice classes, both from 2017.

“Only two,” Kane said, “because by the next year I had too many fights to compete there anymore.”

Her total record is 34-0, with more than half of her wins coming by way of knockout or referee stoppage.

But Gancio is no slouch in the ring, either. Apart from her three BBO titles, all at 147 lbs, she holds three NCBA titles at the same weight, one USIBA championship (earned alongside Kane) at 147 lbs, and two additional belts from her home state of Florida in the Silver and Golden Gloves, which she earned in high school at 125 and 132 lbs, respectively. Like Kane, she has a perfect winning record, an astounding 42-0. But only a handful of KOs and stoppages compared to Kane.

"Elena's more technical than me, and cleaner," said Kane, "but doesn't have as much power. I have more of a balance of technique _and_ power. That'll make for an interesting fight."

“It's kinda exciting,” Gancio said. “We're really putting it all on the line here. One of us is going to get our first loss next week. And hey, if nothing else, the Corps gets to see the First Captain get punched in the face a little. Any cadet would want to see that.”

But Gancio made sure to clarify that she didn't issue the challenge out of bad blood or a true rivalry.

“I know how important this is to [Kane], because I know how important it is to me,” she said. “This isn't me trying to spoil anything. And no disrespect to the other women in the club, but I just felt like neither of us would really be challenged for our fourth wins otherwise, and this to me is something that deserves a challenge. I've seen Bette fight plenty of times, and she's good and tough, so if I win my fourth BBO title, I want it to be against her. And it's the same if I lose.”

Kane expressed similar sentiments.

“Elena's a sweetheart, really,” she said, “and her commitment to the sport is why I picked her to lead the club when I couldn't this year. But in the ring, as long as the fight’s on, that all melts away. We both know that. Whoever wins is definitely going to earn it.”

Coach Ray Barone said that this year's event will be more elaborate than in years past, due to the unique circumstances.

“Not only will we have two fighters going against each other for their fourth title, this kind of independent matchmaking is something that, to my knowledge, has never happened before,” he said. “So it seemed right to pull out the stops a bit for this one. We're having ESPNU back to broadcast all the fights live, something that last happened in 2009. And the Kane family has generously donated a special fund for the commission of custom title belts and trophies for this Open and the next five.”

Barone went on to add, “There are a lot of good bouts scheduled this year, but the main event features two of the best boxers, male or female, to ever attend the Academy. Certainly as long as I've been here. It's going to be a fantastic show.”

The 64th Annual Brigade Boxing Open begins at 1800 on February 21, 2020 in Crest Hall, and will consist of 14 bouts. Admission is free. Those unable to attend can watch full coverage of the event live on ESPNU or espn.com.

**Author's Note:**

> About four months after I wrote this, something pretty cool happened. The _Capital Gazette_ ran a similar sort of story for the 78th Annual BBO at the US Naval Academy, and one of the featurettes involved MIDNs Lint and Steerman, both reigning Brigade champs, setting up almost exactly the same situation as Bette and Elena do here, down to the weight-matching. Many of the quotes in the real article also greatly resembled what I wrote here.
> 
> [Judge for yourself.](https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/navy_sports/ac-cs-brigade-boxing-preview-20190221-story,amp.html) The relevant part's about midway through.
> 
> I think getting the mindset of the characters I wrote here correct is pretty awesome, especially getting that validation well after the writing was done. Feels good.


End file.
